Part of A Celebration of Nicole Kidman
The all-American obsession with celebrity turns monstrous in this deliciously subversive (and disturbingly prescient) satire of our television-mediated, true-crime-obsessed age. In a career breakthrough, Nicole Kidman delivers a diabolical deconstruction of the girl next door as a local TV weather reporter whose perfectly perky facade belies a murderous heart, as her ruthless pursuit of fame ensnares three disaffected teens in a sordid, tabloid-ready scandal. Deftly deploying shifting perspectives, faux-documentary interviews, and a supporting cast featuring Joaquin Phoenix, Matt Dillon and Casey Affleck, director Gus Van Sant adds provocative layers of meaning to this darkly funny examination of suburban sociopathy. (Synopsis from Criterion Collection)
“TO DIE FOR, an irresistible black comedy and a wicked delight, takes aim at tabloid ethics and hits a solid bull's-eye, with Ms. Kidman's teasingly beautiful Suzanne as the most alluring of media-mad monsters.” —Janet Maslin, New York Times (Sep 27, 1995) “Kidman crafts a characterization of breathtakingly controlled artifice, dead-on timing, dizzyingly precise humor. Her part is a knockout--in every sense of the word.” —Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune (Oct 6, 1995) “Kidman grabs center stage and never relinquishes the position. Playing mercilessly against her pinup girl image, she's an unforgettable, comic archetype…. Her character's attempts to dignify ignorance with brazen, telegenic confidence are hilarious.” —Desson Howe, Washington Post (Oct 6, 1995) “TO DIE FOR, sparked by a volcanically sexy and richly comic performance by Kidman that deserves to make her an Oscar favorite, is prime social satire and outrageous fun.” —Peter Travers, Rolling Stone (Oct 6, 1995)
